Oakland City, IN - The Mighty Oaks basketball team hosted the Chargers of Southeastern Baptist College to finish out the regular season, looking to go into the post season on a high note. After battling to a 53-50 halftime lead, OCU was able to finish off a 104-90 victory, their tenth win of the year.
Four Oakland City University seniors were recognized before the game, as pep band members Becca Sinclair and Brittany Miles, cheerleader Taylor Pemberton, and basketball team member
Tyler Toopes were each honored in front of a crowded Johnson Center fan base.
Toopes shouldered the load in his final regular season game in the Johnson Center, posting a career high 43 points, on 13-22 shooting, going 14-15 from the foul line, while also picking up game highs of six assists, four blocked shots and five steals, to go with 13 rebounds.
Nathaniel Schmittler compiled 20 points and 15 boards, while
Jacob Sanford poured in 18, followed by
DJ Redding, who came off the bench to score 12.
Jacobi York led the way for the Chargers, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, while Glenn Grover also notched 17. Terrance Jones added 16 counters, while Orpheus Rankins had 12 points and 12 boards, followed by Tarrance Davis, who scored 11.
As a team, OCU made 31-63 (49.2%) of their shot attempts, including 6-20 (30.0%) from three point range. SBC Connected on 32-72 (44.4%) of their field goal tries, including 8-19 (42.1%) from distance. The Oaks went 36-47 (76.6%) from the foul line, compared to 18-22 (81.8%) for the Chargers.
For the game, the Oaks held a slim 42-41 rebounding edge, with each team picking up 11 offensive boards. OCU handed out 24 assists and turned the ball over 15 times, compared to 17 assists and 17 turnovers for Southeastern Baptist.
With his 43 point effort, Toopes moved up to 27th on the all time scoring list, with 1,123 points. He passed Brandon Hopf (1,084, 2008-10), Eric Sanders (1,104, 2003-08), Kevin Broughton (1,115, 1982-86), and Brandon Morton (1,120, 2011-15) today, and sits behind Paul Decker, who scored 1,125 points from 1993-98.
The only other two-year OCU player with more points than Toopes is Chuck Cochren, who scored 1,136 points from 1987-89, and currently stands at 24th on the all-time list.
His 692 points is the second most in a single season by a Mighty Oak, just 26 behind the 718 scored by all-time record holder Jim Fleming during the 1971-72 season. His average of 25.6 points per game is tied for third overall with Fleming's historic season, trailing Ray Raesner, who scored 25.8 in 1956-57, and Larry Harris, who holds the record of 26.0 during the 1970-71 season.
The Mighty Oaks will play host to the NCCAA Mid-East Regional Tournament, with seedings and game times to be determined.
